Growing Stagnate
by Alabaster Ink
Summary: People say that Time is linear; always moving forward. Peter knows this is a lie. Written for the NFFR 2010 Fanfic Exchange.


Yay! I was able to get this out! Okay, so this is for the NFFR Fanfic Exchange where my prompt was to write a story "mostly about Peter, maybe on having to watch his siblings grow up twice around him." It sounded really interesting and I had a lot of fun writing this. So, this is dedicated to the person who requested the story. I hope you like it!

Anywho, I won't be able to do a lot of writing for a while because I'm in college now and my schedule is really full. I really want to thank my beta ineptshieldmaid, who is so wonderful for looking this over for me! Thanks!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to C.S. Lewis.

Enjoy!

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**Growing Stagnate**

**One-Shot**

Peter had heard a lot of sayings before. Many of them made sense, some of them didn't, and most of them he was still trying to figure out. Yet, out of all the things he had ever been told, none of them held more truth than the one Oreius said to him many years ago.

"_You must let them grow up, King Peter, for it is too hard for them to grow down." _

To an eavesdropper, the words would not have made much sense, and, at first, to him, they hadn't either. However, with time Peter Pevensie learned exactly what he meant. The High King couldn't force his siblings to stay the same. He could not always be their protector. They had to learn to be their own persons. And so Peter let them. He held them until he couldn't anymore, but it was enough. They all grew up.

Then they grew down.

Peter had never heard a saying filled with more truth, and yet, with more lies than the one Oreius told him. It was impossible to grow down, but not to be cut down. Time was reversed, and people expected them to grow up again. But Peter learned his lesson. Once you grow up, you cannot grow down. Cut down, yes; grow, not so much. Still, they tried, and soon it became all too apparent that things were different – much different.

A week after they returned from Narnia, Peter noticed that his shoulders seemed broader and that it was much harder for him to fit into his old clothes. It was a small change, one not many would have noticed, but for him and his siblings the change was almost as apparent as a bomb. In Narnia, he was eighteen before he became so built.

The next week, Peter noticed that the buttons on Susan's shirt weren't quite as loose as they were before and that her skirt seemed to be on wrong. At breakfast, he noticed both Edmund and Lucy surreptitiously gazing at their sister as well. Before too long, they knew what had happened. Twelve-year-old Susan wasn't shaped so much like a girl her age should have been. The girl had become a woman. In Narnia, she was seventeen before such effects were so evident.

Not even a week later, Peter awoke to sound of moaning. Turning over in his bed, he found to his amusement that Edmund had hit his head on the headboard. At first, Peter began to laugh, but all too soon he stopped. His little brother was too short before for that to happen. Snapping his eyes open to gaze at his brother, Peter noticed that Edmund seemed much taller than he had the night before. Hoping that his tired mind was playing tricks on him, Peter gingerly got out of bed and walked over.

Edmund, seeing that his brother was approaching, stopped rubbing his head and held Peter's gaze curiously. Within a few seconds, the elder king was there and looking blankly at his feet.

Head still throbbing, Edmund asked, "Pete?" His voice broke, and Peter, who had already deduced that Edmund was indeed much taller than before, could only sigh and give a sad smile.

By time the sun had completely risen, Edmund's voice was permanently deeper. In Narnia, that hadn't happened until he was fifteen.

By this point, Peter was just waiting for something to happen to Lucy. Sure enough, four days later, the eldest Pevensie bade witness to Susan escorting their youngest sibling to the closest bathroom to wash up. Almost scared, Peter let his gaze linger over towards the place where his youngest sister had previously been occupying. On the chair, a large, red stain now marred the ivory cushion. In Narnia, that hadn't happened until she was thirteen.

From then on, Peter realized that they weren't so much as growing up again, but catching up. Beings weren't meant to grow down, Peter knew, so they had to compensate. Their bodies, their minds, were older, but both knew that the world wasn't ready. At night, Peter was sure he wasn't the only one who cried.

When they returned from the country, it only became harder. At least at the Professor's house they could be close to Home and they didn't have to act as much. Professor Kirke knew; he had been to Narnia too. In Finchley though, it was completely different. Mother didn't know and they were too scared to tell her.

So Peter watched.

It was painful to see and, deep inside, he acknowledged that it hurt going through it, but Peter was stubborn and he didn't care so much what it did to him. He urged them all to try, try to live in this world they no longer belonged to even though it destroyed them just a little bit more each day. So a year passed, and they learned to accept that growing up and catching up just meant adding more years to the numerous ones already acquired.

When they returned to their Home, it was wonderful. Peter felt as if everything was all right again. They weren't living two separate lives, but one. They just happened to be shorter. That was it. He wasn't watching his siblings trying to grow up again: they already were. Nothing was wrong.

Then they left and things got worse.

Peter tried to learn how to be an English adult, but more often than not he found himself failing miserably. So, he buried himself in his studying, hoping that he wouldn't have to interact with anyone who wasn't just adding on years. Still, it hurt even more to have to watch his siblings do the same thing. After Edmund and Lucy's last trip, it almost became unbearable. So they decided on a different approach. Instead of focusing on living, they would focus on blending in.

Susan, he found, was the best at it. She could create the perfect mask and hide herself. The graceful queen always knew the perfect moment to strike and being stuck in her childish body would in no way stop that. Every time she rejected Narnia, rejected Aslan, he saw it. It was hesitation. It was sadness. Most of all though, it was knowledge. Earth was no place for such thoughts. She knew she had already grown up. You can't just erase a lifetime of memories. At the same time, however, Susan also knew that she would have to wait. The world was not ready for Queen Susan and Peter could accept the decision of his grown up sister. So, he let her paint her face, and dress in silly clothes, and party all night. Because Peter knew that Susan could only grow up once. She had already done that and she was not willing to grow up or down again. Susan was smart and if she could wait, then so could he.

Edmund, though, was different. He could not hide the change and he could not go back to trying to be a normal English schoolboy. His growth was different, harder. He had been younger, and the only thing he knew of childhood was how to be beastly. So he didn't try and Peter could admire that. Sadly though, in Narnia where Edmund's wise and solemn attitude was respected, Earth was slightly different. It hurt Peter to see that Edmund didn't try so hard to make friends, but he understood. Earth could not appreciate the counsel of a grown up boy. So, Edmund remained silent and Peter did so with him.

With Lucy, Peter couldn't decide whether it hurt more or less. In Narnia, Lucy had never lost her sunshine. But that was the problem, because sunshine, no matter how nice, can burn. Before, Lucy was a child, but she was an adult for far longer. You can't just hide battle scars, even if they're not visible. She was named the Valiant for a reason. Blood, loyalty, and such a faith as her's can't be hidden, especially when it's all you know. And Peter found it sad, because Earth wouldn't listen to the wisdom of an eight-year-old woman. So Lucy was forced to play with dolls, but Peter made sure the dagger in her boot was always sharp.

In the end, they all knew the truth. They couldn't grow up a second time, no matter how much they tried to pretend. But despite the fact that at twenty-two, Peter looked twenty-eight, and at seventeen, Lucy looked twenty-three, they kept up their charade. Earth wasn't ready to know.

Peter didn't know how long the game would last. He didn't know how long he would have to sit and watch as he and his siblings tried to blend into a world that wasn't their own. For Peter knew, they weren't growing up a second time, yet nor were they growing down. Catching up was over and now the Pevensie children were stagnant. They could go no further.

"_You must let them grow up, King Peter, for it is too hard for them to grow down." _

"_But Oreius," _Peter had said_, "what do you do when you can do neither?"_

He got no reply.

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Well, I hope you all like my little one-shot. Please review, but DON'T FLAME. Constructive criticism is good, but flaming is just mean.

Well, until next time! Bye, everyone!

~TimeMage0955


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